President Jimmy Carter Speaks on "Defeating Disease"

A new exhibit at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum in Atlanta spotlights work being done around the world to eradicate disease. It's something President Jimmy Carter himself is passionate about, and he took some time to talk with Good Day Atlanta's Paul Milliken about his dedication to wipe out Guinea worm disease.

"Defeating Disease: Countdown to Zero" opened Wednesday, January 11th at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum, the same day President Carter stopped by the Museum to announce major progress in the fight against Guinea worm disease. Just 25 cases were reported around the world in 2016, down from millions in 1986, when the Carter Center became involved.

In a one-on-one interview with Paul Milliken, Carter discussed some of the challenges in educating people about the neglected tropical disease: "Sometimes we've found Guinea worm in a country and the president and the minister of health didn't even know it existed. We did that in Pakistan, for instance. We had thousands of villages with Guinea worm, but the minister of health and president didn't even know about it." President Carter says he's gained an even greater appreciation for the work being done to fight such illnesses in the wake of his own recent battle against cancer.

Good Day Atlanta's Paul Milliken spent the morning at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum, learning more about the work of President Carter in his days since leaving office.